Lohan plays Taylor role in new TV film
LOS ANGELES - Reuters
REUTERS photo
Lindsay Lohan so wanted to play Elizabeth Taylor in the upcoming film “Liz & Dick” that she cut out the middle man and went straight to the producer herself, the tabloid-favorite star said in an interview on Nov. 16.Lohan, 26, plays Taylor in an upcoming television movie that dramatizes the long love affair between the late Hollywood legend and actor Richard Burton.
It’s a funny story, actually. I had seen that they were going to be making the movie and I got the producers’ numbers and started harassing (producer) Larry Thompson,” Lohan said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“I didn’t even care if my agents were going to do it or not, I just did it myself, too,” the “Mean Girls” actress said. “Because I was like, ‘No one else is going to play this role, I have to do this.’”
Early reviews of “Liz & Dick,” which premieres on U.S. cable channel Lifetime on Nov. 25, have ranged from middling to poor. But TV critics noted the similarities between Lohan and Taylor, both often-troubled actresses.
Similar back stories
“’Liz & Dick’ truly drags,” said the Hollywood Reporter. “Luckily, you can’t take your eyes off of Lohan playing Taylor, which the producers clearly thought would work because they share similar back stories.”
Lohan’s acting alongside New Zealand’s Grant Bowler as Burton was described by Variety on Nov. 16 as “adequate, barring a few awkward moments, thanks largely to the fabulous frocks and makeup ... she gets to model.”